She entered the restaurant lobby.
The billionaire sat alone on a velvet bench.
No table.
No executives.
His security remained several yards away.
He stood when she approached.
That surprised her.
“Thank you.”
She remained standing.
“For what?”
“Coming.”
“I haven’t decided how long I’m staying.”
His mouth almost moved into a smile.
Almost.
“Sit.”
She did not.
He caught himself.
“Please.”
Better.
She sat in a chair opposite him.
The billionaire looked at her.
Without the private dining room around him, he seemed less enormous.
Still wealthy.
Still powerful.
But a man sitting in a restaurant after closing.
He spoke in Russian.
She answered in Russian.
It felt more natural for what he wanted.
“When did you first meet my father?”
She told him.
A legal translation assignment.
His father had disliked the senior interpreter’s phrasing and started asking the young assistant questions.
The billionaire nodded.
“That sounds like him.”
“He asked too many questions.”
“That definitely sounds like him.”
Silence.
Then:
“Why don’t I remember you?”
The waitress could have protected him.
She did not.
“Because you rarely looked at me.”
The billionaire became very still.
She continued:
“That is not an accusation.”
“It’s an answer.”
He looked toward the floor.
Fair.
Then:
“What did he say about me?”
The waitress leaned back.
“I need to be careful.”
“He is dead.”
“Privacy does not disappear entirely because someone dies.”
“He was my father.”
“Yes.”
“He spoke about me.”
“Sometimes.”
The billionaire’s jaw tightened.
“I’m asking you.”
She looked at him.
“And I’m deciding what belongs to you.”
He stared.
No one spoke to him like this.
She knew.
But he did not interrupt.
The waitress continued:
“I will tell you things directly related to you.”
“I will not repeat private business conversations about other people.”
“I will not tell you medical details he did not share with you.”
The billionaire’s eyes sharpened.
“There were medical details?”
She held up one hand.
“See?”
He stopped.
Good.
She continued:
“He loved you.”
The billionaire looked almost annoyed.
“I know.”
She wondered if he did.
“He was proud of you.”